Afghanistan is currently facing an extremely dire situation, which is due not only to the protracted conflict but also severe drought and the COVID-19 pandemic. Even before the Taliban offensive, 18 million Afghans – nearly half of the country’s population – needed help. Since January 2021 alone, over 550,000 people have been displaced. One in three Afghans is facing food insecurity and more than half of children under age 5 are at the brink of acute malnutrition. The severe drought is compounding the humanitarian crisis, and the upcoming winter can only make things worse. The difficult political situation will make the needs even more acute and will drive up the number of people in need of urgent humanitarian relief. Therefore, the UN is calling on the international community to increase its engagement in Afghanistan.

The meeting in Geneva was to raise the international community’s awareness of the deteriorating humanitarian situation and acute humanitarian needs in Afghanistan and to mobilise member states in response to the UN’s updated Afghanistan appeal. The aim of the event was also to express solidarity and commitments to the Afghan people facing the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the country. The ministerial also called for ensuring that the civilian population has unimpeded access to humanitarian assistance.  

“The takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban has been a geopolitical earthquake,” said MFA deputy head Paweł Jabłoński. “Poland is fully aware that the volatile economic and security situation in Afghanistan is likely to trigger serious domestic problems. ... Supporting people of Afghanistan is an obligation not only of humanitarian nature. It also has great implications for the safety of our citizens across Europe. ... We believe that under current circumstances, offering substantial humanitarian aid to the Afghans should be the key priority of the international community. ... Poland will be supporting United Nations’ efforts to help all the people of Afghanistan,” he said.

The event was attended, among others, by: UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths, Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) David Beasley, and Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) Natalia Kanem.

Poland has so far been engaged in the development of Afghanistan multilaterally, contributing over USD 45 million to international bodies such as the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA), Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF), International Committee of the Red Cross, World Food Programme, and UN OCHA.

 

MFA Press Office